How peer benchmarking works

How Senserity compares a company with similar companies by sector and size, how the comparison group is chosen, and how much risk varies by sector.

Peer benchmarking compares a company's risk scores against other companies in the same sector and of a similar size. It answers the question: is this company's risk profile typical for its industry, or is it an outlier?

Why benchmarking matters

A risk score on its own tells you how a company performs against Senserity's tests. But risk is not evenly distributed across all industries and company sizes. A construction company and a software consultancy face different regulatory environments, different financial structures, and different operational hazards. A score of 35 might be typical for one sector and unusually high for another.

Peer benchmarking adds that context. It shows you where a company sits relative to its peers, so you can distinguish between sector-wide risk characteristics and company-specific problems. It is a complement to the checks in Supplier due diligence in the UK, not a substitute for them.

How peer groups are defined

Senserity defines peer groups using two dimensions:

Sector. Companies are grouped by their SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification), which describes their primary business activity. SIC codes are chosen by the company when it incorporates and can be updated through confirmation statements. See What is a SIC code for more detail. Senserity matches on the SIC division first (the first two digits, such as 41 for construction of buildings), then on the broader industry section.

Size band. Companies are grouped as micro, small, medium or large, based on employee count and turnover from filed accounts. This ensures that a five-person consultancy is not being compared against a multinational in the same SIC category.

Who the peers are. The comparison is with other companies Senserity has assessed, scored with the same tests, rather than with every company on the register. That keeps like compared with like: every peer has a score built the same way.

When there are too few peers. If there are not enough assessed companies matching both sector and size, Senserity widens the group step by step: same SIC division, then same industry section, then same size band, then all assessed companies. The result always says which group was used, so you can see whether a company was compared with close peers or a broad one.

Sector matters across the whole register too. The figures below come from every UK company that files accounts at Companies House, not from Senserity's assessments, and show how much the share of companies with public risk signals varies between sectors.

What is compared

Peer benchmarking produces comparisons at several levels:

Overall risk score. The company's overall score is compared against the distribution of scores for its peer group. Senserity shows its percentile rank, the group's average, median and middle 50% range, and where the company falls in the distribution.

Category scores. Each of the nine risk category scores is compared separately. This is often more informative than the overall comparison, because it reveals which specific areas are driving any divergence. A company might be typical overall but have an unusually weak Cyber score or an unusually strong Financial score relative to peers. Categories more than two standard deviations from the sector average are flagged as outliers.

Trend comparison. Once a company has at least two earlier assessments with a successful peer comparison, Senserity shows whether its peer ranking is improving or slipping. A company with a stable score may still be falling behind if its peers are improving faster.

Safeguards and limitations

Peer benchmarking is a useful tool, but it has limitations that Senserity is designed to handle honestly:

Small peer groups. In a niche sector or size band there may be few assessed companies to compare with. Senserity widens the group rather than report a comparison against a handful of companies, and shows the group it used so you can weigh the result accordingly.

SIC code accuracy. Peer grouping relies on the SIC code the company has registered at Companies House. Some companies have outdated or inaccurate SIC codes that do not reflect their actual business. This can place them in an inappropriate peer group.

Sector-wide problems. If an entire sector has poor governance or high insolvency rates, peer benchmarking will show a company as "typical" even though its absolute risk is high. The absolute risk score and grade remain the primary assessment. Peer benchmarking is a supplementary lens, not a replacement.

Data coverage varies. Financial data availability differs by company size and filing type. Benchmarks that involve financial figures are most reliable for companies that file detailed accounts.

Outliers in both directions. An unusually low category score can mean the company is genuinely strong, or that there was little data to test. Check the evidence behind an outlier before relying on it.

Peer benchmarking is most valuable when used alongside the absolute risk score, not instead of it. A company that scores well relative to its peers but has an overall grade of D still warrants attention.

How Senserity assesses it

The peer comparisons are produced by these tests:

Last updated 2 October 2026.